This invention relates to improvements in the selective lengthwise extension and top covering of the cargo beds of vehicles and more particularly to a new and improved bed extension unit having a pliable top cover sheet of protective material carried by an associated bed extension frame that can be operatively attached to the side walls of the vehicle bed so that it can be turned between a stored position and a fully-covered, bed-extended position.
Engine powered utility vehicles such as pick-up trucks and some SUV pick-up units have forward cabs and rear beds that are generally designed to conveniently and economically haul a wide range of cargo from bulky and heavy loads to small parcels. Protective covers are frequently added to such vehicles to enclose the beds thereof and protect the cargo. In some designs protective covering sheets are deployable from a spring powered roller assembly mounted in a housing supported at the front of the vehicle bed to facilitate the covering of loads carried on the bed. See U.S. Pat. No. 3,146,824 issued Sep. 1, 1964 to Veilleux for Apparatus for Covering Truck Bodies, for example. However, with the progressively increasing use of such vehicle for personal transportation, cab designs evolved into larger and extended cabs for increased passenger space. Such larger cab designs generally crowd into and limit the bed or cargo space. With such reduced bed space and with ever-increasing demand for further increasing the bed space to accommodate more cargo, new and improved supplemental cargo accommodating equipment is needed. Prior bed-extender designs have generally not met new and higher standards and requirements for additional protected space and transport of increased amounts of cargo or bulky objects particularly where flexible bed covers are needed.
The present invention is drawn to new and improved top cover and extender units for enclosing and protecting the beds of vehicles and the cargo therein and particularly those that have cabs extending into bed space for increased occupant seating.
This invention improves the capability of vehicles with cargo beds to handle and protect more cargo and bulky individual items to meet new requirements and standards. In preferred embodiments of the present invention, a pliant or flexible bed cover and extender unit is provided that can readily fit to a wide range of bed configurations and sizes to materially add to the utilitarian nature of such vehicle. This invention is particularly applicable to those vehicles with a forward cab and an aft bed having sidewalls and a rear tailgate selectively moveable between a closed bed and a bed extended position.
It is a feature, object and advantage of this invention to provide a new and improved bed extender unit with an on-board top cover for selectively extending and protectively covering the cargo bed of a motor vehicle comprising a box-like frame having a top cover of fibrous or other pliable sheet material normally rolled and stored on a spindle within a housing carried thereon. The frame is operatively mounted for limited pivotal movement between a stowed or nested position within the vehicle bed and a bed extension position in which the bed extension includes a fenced horizontally extended tailgate and in which the cover is automatically fed from a roll to ultimately provide a full bed cover.
Another feature, object and advantage of this invention is to provide a new and improved bed extender unit operatively mounting a pliable top cover for selectively fully covering the extended cargo bed of a motor vehicle. Moreover, in this invention the cover is automatically converted to a longitudinally extended top cover of the bed in response to the pivoting of the extender unit from its normal stowed or nested position in which the cover overlies only a front portion of the bed to an outboard position overlying the horizontally extending tailgate and in which the cover fully covers the extended bed.
Another feature, object and advantage of this invention is to provide a new and improved top cover and extender unit for the bed of a motor vehicle in which the unit has a conformable or pliable cover sheet that covers and protects the fully extended bed of the vehicle.
These and other features, objects and advantages of this invention will become more apparent from the detailed description and from the following drawings.